A MAN who discovered a 48-year-old bar of Kendal Mint Cake in his loft believes it may be the oldest-surviving bar of the famous confectionery.

Peter Truelove, 68, of Windermere, bought the bar of Robert Wiper’s Original Mint Cake when he and a friend visited Kendal as 21-year-olds in 1964.

The pair were on a ‘boy’s adventure’ which took them from their homes in Kent to John O’Groats, the most northerly point on the Scottish mainland.

“We travelled the distance in an Austin 7 and it took us a week,” said Mr Truelove, of Hill Top. “The car only did 35mph at best and it was blizzard weather – the snow was coming into the car.

“We called at Kendal on the way back and we’d heard about the mint cake, so when we saw some we thought we’d buy a bar.”

Mr Truelove said he was not sure why he had kept the bar in a box in his loft.

“It was on a shelf as a memento of the trip but it’s been in the loft since we moved to Windermere 16 years ago,” he said. The bar is still in reasonable condition although some of the sugar is seeping through the wrapping.

Although the original Wipers recipe is still used, the company was sold to Romneys in 1987.

Managing director John Barron said: “We have been making it all these years and I don’t think we have any that old – it’s impressive.

“It wouldn’t do him any harm to eat it now but I don’t expect it would taste very nice.”

Mr Truelove said what was also interesting to discover was the journal he wrote while travelling, which documented the stop-off in Kendal. He said: “I had to record everything we spent because my friend and I were splitting the cost of the trip. It’s funny now to look back and see that someone offered to sell us a car engine and gear box for £2.50, and that 15 litres of petrol was 60p.

“Unfortunately, the price of the mint cake wasn’t included, although I did write that we’d visited and purchased it.”

THE Bassenthwaite Ospreys have moved home to live in marshes nearer to Bassenthwaite Lake.

After successfully nesting at their treetop summer home at Dodd Wood since 2008, the pair decided it was time for a change and have been gradually building a new nest since returning from their wintering grounds in West Africa.

Fortunately, the new site is visible from the Dodd Wood viewpoint so visitors can still enjoy watching the birds of prey this season.

Ospreys are normally faithful to successful nest sites, so the move was a bit of a shock for staff at the Lake District Osprey Project (LDOP). This is only the second time staff have seen the ospreys change nest in the project’s 11-year history.

Nathan Fox of the RSPB’s Lake District Osprey Project, said: ‘It has been an interesting and exciting start to the season, with the birds deciding to move. We have been working closely with local landowners and farmers to make sure that the birds are fully protected and therefore have a good chance of raising their chicks.”

A PAIR of ospreys have returned to their nesting site in the Lake District. The birds are back at Bassenthwaite Lake - 10 years after the first male osprey chose the area for a nesting site.The bird, known as No Ring, was the first to nest in the Lakes for 150 years. Experts say he has returned with the female he paired up with for the first time in 2007.

It is hoped the birds will rear an 11th generation of young after two male chicks were produced last year.

Graeme Prest of the Lake District Osprey Project said: "It is wonderful news that the ospreys have returned for another season and have already mated. With a bit of luck, the female will be laying her eggs soon.”

Almost 100 people are part of a volunteer project to provide 24-hour observation on the nest. They also engage with the public about ospreys at the Dodd Wood viewpoint and Whinlatter Visitor Centre.

The public Osprey Viewpoint at Dodd Wood, near Keswick, has been opened and telescopes are being provided to see the birds.

Live images from the nest are also being beamed to a big screen at the nearby Whinlatter visitor centre. The osprey project is managed by a partnership of the Forestry Commission, Lake District National Park Authority and the RSPB.